STERLING – Sterling American Legion Chaplain Gordon E. Harris is reviving a mostly forgotten story about the sinking of the United States Army Transport Dorchester during World War II and the selfless acts of four chaplains on board.
“A lot of people don’t know this story,” Harris said. “It’s really one about brotherhood. I get emotional just talking about it.”
The steamship was torpedoed by a German U-boat just after midnight Feb. 3, 1943, while heading to a U.S. command base in Greenland. Of the 902 people on board only 230 survived. It’s believed to be the worst single death toll for a U.S. convoy in World War II, according to fourchaplains.org.
